Why it works: White wine and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,832 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓
Aspic
Ingredients
Directions
In a large stewpan, boil the aspic and remove scum for 10 minutes.
Allow the aspic to cool slightly.
In another stewpan, whisk together egg whites, whole eggs, veal, game or fowl, white wine, and spring water until mixed.
Add this mixture to the aspic and whisk over heat until the eggs begin to coagulate.
Stir in lemon juice mixed with a little spring water.
Cover the stewpan and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a flannel jelly-bag until bright.
Pour the aspic into deep pans and refrigerate until firm.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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Veal + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Veal + white winetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together666 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Egg + vealtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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